


If You Say We'll Be Alright

by justuntilmorning



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Dark Past, F/M, Mute - Freeform, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2013-12-04
Packaged: 2017-12-29 18:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justuntilmorning/pseuds/justuntilmorning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elora was the lonely girl who didn't like to talk to people. All this time she's been running from a past that continues to follow her. Days before she was going to return to her childhood city, she falls into the lives of some people who will change the rest of her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Only An Accident

When I opened the outside door of the building with my laptop bag hanging from my shoulder, I paused to admire the sight. It was autumn and the leaves had already transitioned into breathtaking hues. I stuck my earphones in and began strolling down the street to make my way to the café a short walk from here. This was the last day was going to walk this path. I was finally returning to my home for the first time in years. Although, I was going to miss Seattle, England is where I belonged. I pulled my lime green scarf tight against my face and lowered my head to fight the cool breeze.

Today there was more foot traffic than usual. People brushed past me from all sides with different destinations. I decided to ditch the streets and take a shortcut through the park. As I was climbing the long staircase cutting the park in half, I watched each step pass beneath my feet. Because I was watching the ground I didn’t see the huge figure in front of me stumble right into me sending me tumbling down the way I had came.  
The next thing I know, I’m lying on my back with my right arm, which currently was my uninjured one, covering my face, my eyes squeezed shut in agony. My whole body felt as if it was pinned to the ground. My mind was swaying the world back and forth. It couldn’t connect the dots. What just happened? My eyelids fluttered open and close. The darkness threatened to conquer my body. I was using all of the strength I could muster to defend the intruder.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and I instantly flinched away from the gentle touch causing even more pain to course through my body. I took a moment to try to calm down the way my mum had taught me when I was young but everything seemed like it was spinning. I felt like was going to throw up. Gradually, a soft voice was speaking to me. I couldn’t quite understand what they were saying. It sounded muffled in my ears. I could only make out the words, “We’ll be alright.”

It could have been hours or merely seconds that had passed when I uncovered my arm to reveal the pale blue sky framed by the fall leaves of the trees. My eyes couldn’t quite focus. A perfect white spot to my left caught my eye. I concentrated long enough to realize it was a white shirt. The wearer was crouching next to my shoulder. The shirt his was wearing was dotted with dark spots of red trailing from the collar down half way the front. Blood. My gaze trailed up the shirt stopping at the clear jade eyes staring back at me. Those concerned jade orbs belonging to the mysterious lad were the last things I saw before I lost the battle and fell into the darkness.

*********************

 

Soft rhythmic beeping was the only sound I could hear when I reached consciousness. I kept my eyes shut, waiting for my senses to catch up. I could feel the sunrays touching my face. I took a deep breath but it was cut short with the pain shooting through my sides. I slowly released it, warily of the new pain. I took the dare to reveal my eyes to the world. I cracked open one eye, bringing a small, sterile white hospital room into view. There were two white plastic chairs in the room. One was next to the door and a boy with a headful of messy, brown curls occupied the other right next to my bed.

I stiffened at the sight of him. Who was he? I could only see his profile. He had a butterfly Band-Aid over the bridge of his nose with a matching dark bruise on his left jaw line. His head was slumping against his chest; light snores were drifting from his shape. I tried to use all of my might to pull myself into a sitting position but it was no use. My shoulder was wrapped up, bruised, preventing most movements. I finally pressed the call button located next to my elbow. Moments later the nurse on duty swept into my room.

“Oh, my. You’re up. That’s great. Are you feeling well, sweetie?” I simply nodded my head. She checked the IV in my arm and helped me into a sitting position with minimum pain from my sides. She administrated morphine to manage the pain. After that, she produced a sling from the bedside table. I leaned forward as she eased the sling into place. “Wonderful, Your doctor will be here in a moment, Elora.” She turned on her heels and strolled back to her station. My eyes were still trained on the door long after she had left. My mind was wandering to the ends of the earth. I hadn’t full woken up yet. The cobwebs still needed to be cleared from mind. I turn to check on the sleeping boy to realize he was staring back at me. He was the boy I saw before I passed out. Though he wasn’t just any ordinary lad you run into everyday. It was the one and only Mr. Harry Styles. I quickly dropped my eyes to my lap. Why would he be here?

“Are you alright?” his deep, raspy voice seemed so loud in the almost silent room. I refused meet his gaze. I nodded my head in the slightest movement. I focused on the sickly green colored blanket covering my legs. I pushed that back slightly to run my hands against the stiff, cream hospital sheets scratching my thighs. I sneak a small peak at him. He had turned his chair towards me and his hands were resting on the edge of my bed. He wore a concerned expression. As he was opening his mouth, a tall man in a white lab coat walking in stopped his response.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Garrison. Are you feeling okay?” For the third time since I had woken up I nodded. He shifted the clipboard in his hands in order to page through it. “So, your left shoulder is slightly bruised. We are expecting it to go away in a few days. Also on your left side, you have two fractured ribs. You will have to wear that sling for a couple weeks, just until they heal up. You will be as good as new. I promise.You should be discharged in a few hours.” He smiled down at me. “I hope you feel better.” With those last words, he turned to leave the room when he stilled.

“Mr. Styles, may I have a moment with you please?” The curly haired boy ran his hand through his hair, stood and followed the doctor outside the room. A couple minutes had passed when he was returning to the chair with the clipboard and pen Mr. Garrison had previously possessed. He discarded those items on the side of my bed and placed his hands intertwined on his lap.

“Hello. I’m Harry.” He leaned forward. “I’m so sorry for what happened. It’s my fault you’re here. I was messing around with my mate and he shoved me as we were walking up the stairs. I didn’t think I would fall into you, let alone land on you.” He closed his eyes, briefly. He looked so heartbroken. I didn’t understand why he was still here, though. “You don’t have to respond. I just needed you to know that.” I looked at the clipboard that was wearing fresh lined paper instead of medical ones. It seemed genuine. The apology. I slowly reached for the items. I held the pen in my right hand, awkwardly. The item was foreign to that hand. The tip of the writing utensil hovered over the piece of paper. I had so many options to what I could saw to him. Harry. I started with the question that has been lingering in the corner of my mind since I opened my eyes.

 **Why are you still here? I mean you’re in the biggest boy band in the world. You must have something better to do.** I quickly glanced up at Harry who had moved closer to read what I had written. He gently took the pen and board from me.

 **I wanted to know if you were alright.** He gave the board back. I sat there staring at the words. He wanted to know if I was okay? He had no reason to come. He must be very busy. Time didn’t have to be wasted on me.

 **You didn’t have to.** He frowned when he read my response.

 **But I did. It was my fault.** No one has ever given me more than a glance. Harry is something different. 

**It was an only an accident. Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have seen that coming.** From the way I could see, he was already stressing over it before talking to me. He shouldn't feel responsible for this. A hint of a smile was showing on his face. 

**Yet I can’t help feel horrible.** I didn't know what to say after that. I thought for a second.

 **I’m Elora by the way.** He probably didn't even know my name.

 **It’s nice to meet you.** His smile lit up his entire face. He had dimples. 

**You don’t have to write. You can just talk.** His brow furrowed. His phone going off interrupted his answer. He plucked it out of his pocket and placed it on the bed next to me. I looked down at it and realized it was my phone.

“I completely forgot about this. It’s been going off like crazy since yesterday.” Who could possibly be calling that much? A shiver ran down my spine when I picked it up. I paged through my unread messages. I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding when I checked the name. Ed, my best mate, who must be worried sick. He was supposed to pick me up from the flight I never made it on. I quickly typed out a message saying I was okay. I immediately got a reply back, asking where was I. How was I suppose to explain? My phone beeped once more. A notification saying I had twenty percent battery left. It probably has less than that I’m guessing and my guess was correct because it died right on cue. My charger was in my bag. I looked around the room for it, but there was nothing. I picked up the clipboard and carefully wrote out a question.

 **Where is my bag?** Harry took a deep breath.

“The lads have it.” He offered.

**Why do they have it?**

“I’ve been here since I was discharged. Louis picked it up after we left in the ambulance. Neither of us realized you had a bag with you. The lads have been stuck at the hotel ever since. They’ve tried to attempt to leave but the fans are making that pretty difficult.” He pulled out his own phone and typed out a message to someone. As he was typing, for the first time since I woke up I took in his outfit. He had on that blood stained white tee shirt paired with a pair of black skinny jeans and worn brown ankle boots.

“They’re on their way.” I glance up at his face to see him already looking at me.

**You must love those boots.**

*****************************

We sat there and talked. Well he talked and I listened. He told me stories about tour and how beautiful it was back in London. He rambled on about his favorites and what he likes to do in his free time. It was hours of meaningless conversation waiting someone to walk through the door.z

On the other side of the room someone cleared their throat. I turned my head to see a boy with feathery caramel hair holding a bouquet of white tulips in the doorway. Louis dragged the white chair by the door over to the opposite of the bed Harry was on and sat down. “Hello, love. These are for you.” He placed them in my hand. I’ve never gotten flowers from anyone before. They are so beautiful. He has piercing blue eyes. “I’m sorry-” I cut him off with a wave of my hand accompanied with a headshake. That seemed a bit rude so I tried a small smile after I dropped my hand. After a beat of silence three other boys walked in. It was Liam, Zayn and Niall, the rest of One Direction. They shyly waved and smiled as they walked up behind Louis’ chair. Liam reached over Louis' head to place a heavy, box wrapped in white paper decorated with a golden bow on my lap. He silently sat down at the end of my bed along with Zayn while Niall stayed where he was.

“It was an accident. All of it and it is entirely my fault.” The words rushed out of Louis’ mouth. “It wasn’t just you and Harold who got hurt. Your laptop paid a very large price.”


	2. Caring Hearts

I really didn’t know what to say. I forgot my Mac was in my bag in the first place. _Of course it was in my bag. That was my **laptop** bag. _ I didn’t think about the damage the fall could have caused and suddenly I don’t want to see. My laptop had my entire music library, my music mixes- my music compositions. My Mac was fairly new but it still had everything on it. _I don’t think this will be covered under the warranty, will it?_ I wondered.Louis apologized a mile a minute for a good five minutes, though I zoned him out. I couldn’t stop him anyways. He babbled about how he would be so distraught if that happened to his MacBook.

Harry had kindly plugged my phone in to charge when my bag arrived so Ed was checking up on me every few minutes. He told me to stay where I was until I healed up, but I couldn’t stay in the States. He clearly knew why. He was currently on the phone booking yet another flight for me. This time I plan on making it.

**I need to be getting home.**

“You’ll be discharged any minute now,” Liam answered as he watched me write. “Then you can relax and heal up.”

 **No, I missed my plane _home_ last night. ** Once he had read my response, Liam excused himself out of the room. Light conversation was started up to fill in the silence surrounding everyone.

“Why don’t you talk?” Niall asked suddenly. The whole room fell quiet.

“Niall! You don’t ask questions like that!” Harry yelled. My head dropped down, staring at my lap. It was a matter of time until one of them asked the question all of them had been thinking since they walked through the threshold of my hospital room. If I told them, they would all think the same thing. Harry stood to walk to the other side of the room to pull Niall aside. Louis turned towards Niall with a disapproving look on his face and followed in Harry’s footsteps. It ignited a discussion, well lecture, into personal questions and space between the three of them.

 

“You don’t have to answer that.” I slowly lifted my head to find the origin of the gentle voice. Zayn had shifted to take Liam’s previous spot at the foot of my bed. It was the first words he had said since entering my room. He looked at me with soft eyes to match his voice. He offered a small smile.

“So where do you live?” He lighted up a conversation to dissolve the tension that was lingering in the room.

**Funny story actually. I’m moving to London.**

“Really?” His eyebrows were raised.

 **I love it there. I’ve always planned on going back since I was little.** That was the first little bit of information I had offered up to any of them.

“I love it there as well. We all do.” Zayn gestured to the rest of the group. “London, I mean. It’s been a good home. After that we chatted about unimportant things for awhile. It was nice and lighthearted. Zayn was friendly and caring. It was a nice change.

 

****

 

Oh, we forgot about the surprise,” Zayn pointed to the long forgotten white box in my lap. The word surprise caught the attention of the other boys bickering in the background and drew them back to their original seats.

“Well, go on. Open it,” Louis urged. I placed my hands on top of the box, running my fingers against the silky texture of the golden bow perfectly wrapped on top.

“This is an apology,” Louis said.

**I can’t accept this from you.**

“You don’t even know what it is,” Niall stuck out his arms towards me as he spoke.

 **So? That doesn’t mean I can’t decline your gift.** I tilted my head to the side and crinkled my nose.

“Elora, go ahead,” Zayn slightly nodded his head as if to nudge me into action. I glanced at each of the boys along with Liam who must have ducked in the room moments after the shift in the energy of the room. They all mimicked the nod Zayn had done. I shrugged my shoulders and took a deep breath. I slightly pulled on the tie of the bow and it came undone, sliding out of my way, revealing the sparkly, white wrapping paper. I flipped the box over to the seam of the paper and slipped my finger underneath the single piece of tape. I paused to once again look up at the boys. They all had bright smiles on their faces.

“Just so you know it’s non refundable so you’re stuck with it,” Harry tried. _What is “it” anyways?_ I thought. I repeated the tape process on the sides and unfolded the paper to reveal a laptop box. A new MacBook. The sleek design was shown prominent on the cover. I looked at all of the boys with an expression that could only be described as disbelief. 

“I’m so sorry for all of this,” Louis started as he waved his hands around. 

“We had the hard drive saved from the wreckage of your old Mac and transferred to the new one, however that works.” Liam said.

“It may not be the same, but it’s pretty close,” Niall added.

“We all chipped in a little bit. It’s a gift from all of us,” Harry smiled. 

“Think of it as a welcome to England?” Zayn laughed and we all couldn’t help but join in. I lifted up the top of the box and there it was, in a mint colored see through hard case.

“Do you like the mint? We were just guessing on the color,” Harry rubbed his neck. 

“I mean it was the color of your phone case, keyboard cover, laptop sleeve and accessory bag. I mean of course it’s your-” Liam cut Louis off.

“I think we all get the picture, Lou,” he chuckled.

 **It’s absolutely perfect. Though this is a brand new laptop. It's huge. I'll pay you guys back.** I bit my bottom lip.

“Well, we aren't going to accept it," Niall laughed. I joined in and shook my head because the tables had turned.

**We're a stubborn bunch, don't you think? But there is no way I could thank you enough. This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten in my life.**

“And to add to that, you can go home. On a flight, I mean. Your doctor said its possible but it’s going to be a little uncomfortable due to take off and turbulence? I think that’s what he said. Though he suggests you not go alone.” Liam explained.

 **Well, I don’t really have anyone to escort me _to another country._** I thought about Ed but I didn’t want him to waste money like that.

“Yeah, you do,” Harry simply stated.

 **And who could that possibly be?** I raised my eyebrows.

“Me, of course,” he smiled, dimples were prominent. “I’m heading home anyways.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Liam looked down at his phone. “I already called and booked another seat next to you. The flight leaves tonight at 8.”

“I don’t know about you but I’ve been in this hospital for too long,” Louis took a deep breath. Do you lads want to go for breakfast?” There was a chorus of agreement.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Harry nodded at them.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Elora,” Liam stuck his hand out. I hesitated before I did the same and shook his hand.

“It was nice talking to you. We should meet up once you get settled. We can show you around a bit,” Zayn rubbed my good shoulder. His eyes were bright. 

“Again I’m sorry,” Louis looked sheepishly at me. I shook my head at him.

“Me too,” Niall stared at his feet. When he finally built up the courage to look up, I gave him a smile to tell him no hard feelings. After that the four boys filed out of the room.

 

“Well I suggest after getting your pain relievers, we should go collect your bags and bring them to the hotel. Then I can change into something less…gruesome? After that we can decide from there.” Collect my bags. Right, I left them with Kody when I moved out my apartment. I was staying with him and I never came back yesterday. I remember he left I couple messages and voicemails on my phone when I turned it back on. I didn’t exactly explain what was going on. I couldn’t really comprehend what was happening myself. It must have been the painkillers.

 

****

 

Twenty minutes later we were on our way to Kody’s apartment. Harry had gotten my prescription while I was signing papers to be discharged. We had one of his bodyguards with us. Paul was it? Kody lived on the outer part of the city. It was very quiet place. Not much happened.

When I knocked on the door, the door flew open and I was greeted with a hug but was quickly released after a whimpered escaped my lips.

 

“Elora! Oh my god. Are you okay?” I nodded my head. He did a once over on my appearance. “Man, you look like shit.” I rolled my eyes.

 _Thanks so much for being honest, Kody,_ I signed. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. That’s when he looked over and noticed Harry for the first time standing awkwardly behind me. He glanced at me.

 _I guess the one and only Harry Styles is the reason for your missed flight and injury I’m guessing,_ he dramatically signed.

_You would be partly correct._

_This is the best present you have ever gotten me. I get to meet Harry Styles!_ He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

_Shut up._

_Well does he know that-_ I cut him off with a glare. He flashed a smile at me as I hit him in the arm. I turned towards Harry and gave him a curious look because he was nearly laughing. It took a second to form a practical conclusion.

 _Do you know ASL?_ I asked even though I already knew the answer.

 _Actually I do,_ Harry smirked at me as his hands expertly signed the words.

_Then Mr. Smarty Pants, this is Kody. Kody this is Harry._

****

We spent the day together. Once we had collected my bags from Kody’s we decided to visit the landmarks Seattle can offer us. I was only here visiting Kody, though I didn’t have much time to be shown around. He was still attending school and on top of that he had work but we still made it work.

The first place we visited was the Seattle Great Wheel. Harry said it reminded him of London. It was like a like a little London Eye. We just walked along the pier occasionally stopping so Harry could take pictures and sign autographs for fans. It was…fun? Relaxing?The Space Needle was a must on his list apparently and i found myself staring down at the ground from about 500 feet up. He was more persuasive than I gave him credit for I can tell you that.

Sooner than we had expected Paul was signaling we had to head to the airport. The whole day had past in a blur. It was hectic, really. We boarded the plane and prepared ourselves for the long flight. I was finally returning home after four years. This is finally happening. Harry and I talked for most of the flight. He told me about random stories and his family. He talked nonstop about Gemma. He was so proud of her. The gleam in his eyes and the huge smile seemed to creep onto his face whenever she came up in a story. He made me laugh countless times with his unbelievably awful jokes and for the first time in a very long time, I felt completely safe. 

Though exhaustion got the best of him eventually. He was drifting in and out of conciseness while I looked out the window to my left, staring out into the dark wondering why such an amazing guy would go to all of this trouble for me. Once we landed in London, I was sure I was probably never going to see these five boys again.


	3. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I fell off the face of the earth. It's taken so long for me to write this. I'm sooooo sorry :(
> 
> Comments and criticism is welcomed!!

“Ella!” I was blind sided by a body engulfing me in his arms and twirling me around in a circle that had me giggling like a little girl. I had just walked into my flat for the very first time.

“Ed. Ed! Stop that!” I gasped out.

“I can’t do that. I haven’t seen you in ages. I have to give you the proper welcome,” he chuckled. Eventually he stopped spinning us and gave me half hug. He held me an arms length from his body.

“It’s so nice to see you. You’re lucky I’m on painkillers,” I ruffled his ginger hair.

“There will be plenty of catching up done later. It’s time for the grand tour of your new home.” He turned me around to face the entryway. 

There was a closet to the left that had a shoe rack and coat hangers in it. The opposite wall had a small table with a small dish that I was thinking Ed put there because it said “My Shit” on it. I placed my new keys in the dish and smiled up at Ed.

“Is this my house warming gift?” I raised an eyebrow. Though I only got a small chuckle as he lead me further into the flat for a grand tour. It was a small one bedroom flat. Not that it was a bad thing; it was cozy. It had a walk in closet, a decent size kitchen and a nice view from the living room window.

Ed had stayed until evening. We sat on the floor of the living eating some of the best Chinese food I had ever had. There was a random show playing on the television but we weren’t even watching it. We talked about how life has been, how his career is going, etc. Normal stuff. It was lighthearted but underneath I knew there was a question he was waiting to ask me, but I brushed it off and enjoyed the feeling of being in his company once again after all this time. He welcomed me once more to the city of London before I gently closed the door behind him with promises lingering in the air.

*********

 

Two weeks after I had arrived, I caved. I had never been a big fan of Starbucks. I’ve never been there, yet I didn’t know why I didn’t like that place. My flat was a block away from Starbucks. Or should I say the nearest Starbucks to my flat. I mean, they were everywhere. Unfortunately it was the closest place to get coffee and all of the places I’d been to in the last fourteen days didn’t have the best coffee. 

I didn’t peg him as a Starbucks bloke, but Ed had been nagging me to go. I refused repeatedly but then the next thing I knew Ed was opening the door to that coffee place while he was on the phone with someone. He stayed outside to finish his phone call as I scanned the board. There was so much to take in; it was overwhelming.

“Find something you like?” I hummed and simply nodded my head not paying attention to the actual question, until I realized it wasn’t Ed who had voiced the question. I jumped and turned towards the lad. It was Louis. I must have looked completely baffled by his presence because he let out small huff of air followed by a short laugh.

“Did I scare you a bit, love? I’m sorry,” He looked down at his feet before I could do the same. When he lifted up his head, his lips were pursed. “How have you been?” I gave him tiny smile and lifted up my arm and wiggled my fingers. I had gotten the doctor’s okay on taking the sling off a couple days ago. 

“Good, good. Well, I have to be on my way but give me your phone, yeah?” For the first time I noticed his coffee cup in his right hand. I patted my pockets and pulled it out. He typed his number in, messaged himself and handed it back a minute later. “In a couple days the lot and I are having a little get together. You should come.” He made his way towards the door but turned as his hand was on the door. “Try the white chocolate mocha. You’ll like it.” And with that he was gone out into the busy streets before I could process anything.

“Hey, sorry about that,” Ed touched my shoulder. “ Have you decided on what you want?” I couldn’t help but smile as I nodded at him.

 

After Ed ordered for us, we walked out of the shop and on to the streets. It was a little chilly so I kept my hands wrapped around my cup and close to my body.

“How are you liking it here so far?” Ed was looking at a small park to his right. He tilted his head to it, wanting to go in.

“It’s okay,” I hadn’t had much time to go exploring into the city yet. I was caught up in furnishing my flat and my job. It was at a music store in the center of the city. It was quite the distance but I didn’t mind.

“I’m glad you decided to move here,” he said. “It’s like old times.”

“What was that phone call all about?” I took a long sip of my drink now that it had cooled down to a bearable temperature. I made a note to thank Louis for the suggestion. It was delicious.

“Oh yeah. I forgot. We are going to a party. You have to formally be welcomed into the city and going to a party is the perfect way.” I shook my head. I didn’t think that was the best idea. “C’mon, El! You’ll like it. It’s low-key. There won’t be that many people, about ten people and they’re close mates. I’d love for you to meet them.” He mirrored my actions when I had stopped walking, shaking my head and crossing my arms, instinctively. “I’m not giving you a choice. It’s this evening at six o’clock. Be ready.” I rolled my eyes and punched him in the arm.

********

 

“Nervous?” He tried. I gave him a pointed look.

“Of course not.” I gave him yet another eye roll. We were in the lift heading to this party at someone’s flat. It wasn’t too far of a cab drive for us. There was a ding signaling our arrival on the fourth floor. We walked along the hall passing only two doors until we reached the last one. He knocked twice and the door flew open a moment later. The sight inside had me frozen.

“Hey, Ed. You good?” Zayn gave him a hug. Only then he noticed me a couple steps behind.

“Elora! What are you doing here? “His eyes went wide with surprise and a hint of some other things I couldn’t put my finger on. Happiness? Realization? He slowly took a step towards me and pulled me into a gentle hug, tucking me under his chin. He gave me a tiny squeeze and rubbed my back. He pulled back and held me an arms length away. “What I meant to say was, you alright?” I laughed at his correction. “Come in, come in. I’ll take your jackets.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and led me further in with Ed on our heels. We walked into the living room where there was Harry, Liam and a bloke I didn’t recognize on the couch playing FIFA.

“ You can’t do that! That’s cheating, Josh!” Harry yelled.  
“Oh sure I can! You’re just jealous you’re losing, mate,” the bloke named Josh replied.  
“Harry, just let it go. You’re crap at FIFA. Even Liam can kick your ass.,” an Irish voice chuckled from the kitchen. A second later, Niall walked in with his hand buried in a bowl of chips. 

“Elora! Where did you come from?” Niall placed the bowl on the coffee table and walked around the couch to me, brushing the crumbs off of his hands on his jeans. I glanced around his shoulder at the rest of the boys. They had paused the game and followed in Niall’s footsteps to stand right next to him. They all greeted me warmly.

“Thanks for all the love,” Ed had interrupted with his arms folded across his body. A hint of a smile was present on his lips. “How do you lot know Elora anyways.”

“No one told me it was _today_!” The front door slammed shut, and the sound of shuffling footsteps. “I ran into Elora today and I wanted to see if she wanted to come. You know since you lot were restless about not-“

“Louis. Why are you yelling?” The boy named Josh had his eyebrows raised. At that moment, Louis stepped into the room and stopped at the sight of me standing there. 

“Don’t even bother asking. We’ve already done it.” Niall laughed at Louis expression, confused and mouth open like was going to say something.

“Wait. Is this Ella?” Harry pointed at me but he was looking at Ed. “The girl you always talk about?”

“Yeah. We’ve been friends since we were little.” Ed nodded. There was a beat of silence. “How do you know her?”

“Well, funny story actually,” Louis nervously laughed as the other boys shook their head.

********

 

We sat around the television playing FIFA and eating snacks for the next couple hours. It better than I thought it was going to be. I got up to get a cup of tea without drawing any attention. There were arguments and controllers being thrown around. It was best to slip away.

“How’s the shoulder?” Harry came up behind and took pot from me. I hopped onto the counter to watch him. He turned so his back was to me.

“Has the city been treating you well? It’s a bit overwhelming at first, I guess but it is entirely worth it.” He produced two matching black mugs from where he was working and handed me one. He started to speak again as I was taking a sip. “ I hope the tea is alright. I was just guessing how you’d like it.” I sighed at the flavor invading my mouth. It was perfect.

“It’s no fun playing with them,” he looked down at his mug and tapped his fingers against it. I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my lips. “Hey! Don’t laugh at me!” He pouted, sticking his lip out and giving me puppy dog eyes.

 _Sorry, I just can’t help it. It’s the face_.

 

“That was fun. We should do that again sometime,” Liam handed Ed his jacket. It was midnight and we all had early mornings. Well, if you call noon early but I guess that's how it works with them.

“Yeah, we should,” he shook his hand.

“Here, let me,” Harry held my jacket out to help me into it. “Would you like to go for coffee tomorrow morning?” I turned around to face him. Wait. Coffee? I thought about for a moment.

_Sure. What time?_  


“Does 8 o’clock work for you?” He raised his eyebrows. Almost like he didn’t think I would agree to it.

_Yeah, that works._

“Okay hand me your phone. I’ll text you the details.” As he putting his contact in he frowned but shook it off. “Okay, I’ll see you later.” I looked around at the other people in the room

I gave them all a little wave and walked out of the flat with Ed in front of me. He called two cabs for us since we live in almost opposite directions.

“Thanks for today, Ed. It was great.”

“It went better than I thought it would be. Probably because you already knew them,” he smiled gently at me.

“Yeah. They were so nice to me when I was in the States.” The cabs arrived after that. He told one my address, turned back to give me a tight hug and opened the door to the other cab. Ed paused for a second.

“They’re good men.” It was a simple statement but it carried much more meaning with it.


End file.
